Willingness to Communicate (WTC), the most immediate antecedent of actual communication behavior in an L2, is widely believed to facilitate the acquisition of the target language. Higher WTC is generally associated with higher L2 use (MacIntyre, Clément, Dörnyei & Noels 1998), though it has not been empirically tested. This article reports on an attempt to fill this gap by investigating to what degree learners’ self-reported L2 WTC predicts actual L2 use in the classroom. A group of 372 Japanese university EFL learners majoring in science and human arts subjects participated in the study. Students’ oral performance data were collected three times during the group discussions in one academic semester. The number of words each student produced during each discussion was counted. The results of structural equation modelling analyses suggested that self-reported L2 WTC predicted actual L2 use in the classroom. Second, gender differences in L2 use in the language classroom has not been empirically explored in the quantitative studies, therefore, whether L2 WTC would predict observed L2 use equally among males and females, and whether males and females produce equal amount of L2 in the classroom will be explored. Implications of the research findings will be discussed.
(1988) Attitudes, Personality, and Behavior. Chicago, IL: Dorsey.
Ajzen, I
(2005) Attitudes, Personality, and Behavior. New York, NY: Open University Press.
Alemi, M., Tajeddin, Z. & Mesbah, Z
(2013) Willingness to Communicate in L2 English: Impact of Learner Variables. RALS, 41, 42–61. Retrieved from [URL]
Al-Shehri, A.S
(2009) Motivation and vision: The relation between the ideal L2 self, imagination and visual style. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 164–171). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Beatty, M.J. & McCroskey, J.C
(2000) A few comments about communibiology and the nature/nurture question. Communication Education, 49(1), 25–28.
Bleses, D., Vach, W., Slott, M., Wehberg, S., Thomsen, P., Madsen, T.O. & Basboll, H
(2008).The Danish Communicative Developmental Inventories: Validity and main developmental trends. Journal of child language, 351, 651–669.
Bowers, J.M., Perez-Pouchoulen, M., Edwards, N.S. and McCarthy, M.M
(2013) Foxp2 mediates sex differences in ultrasonic vocalization by rat pups and directs order of maternal retrieval. Journal of Neuroscience, 33 (8), 3276–3283.
(2006) The Female Brain. New York: Broadway Books.
Burman, D.D., Bitan, T. & Booth, J.R
(2008) Sex differences in neural processing of language among children. Neuropsychologia, 46(5), 1349–1362.
Canale, M. & Swain, M
(1980) Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics 11, 1–47.
Cao, Y. & Philp, J
(2006) Interactional context and willingness to communicate: A comparison of behavior in whole class, group and dyadic interaction. System, 341, 480–493.
Clément, R. & Kruidenier, B
(1985) Aptitude, attitude, and motivation in second language proficiency: A test of Clément’s model. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 41, 21–37.
Chomsky, N
(1965) Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Csizér, K. & Kormos, J
(2009) Learning experiences, selves and motivated learning behavior: A comparative analysis of structural models for Hungarian secondary and university learners of English. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 98–119). Bristol, England: Multilingual Matters.
Denies, K., Yashima, T. & Janssen, R
(2015) Classroom Versus Societal Willingness to Communicate: Investigating French as a Second Language in Flanders. The Modern Language Journal, 99(4), 718–739.
Dörnyei, Z
(1990) Conceptualizing motivation in foreign language learning. Language Learning, 401, 46–78.
Dörnyei, Z
(2005) The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition. New York, NY: Routledge.
Dörnyei, Z. & Kormos, J
(2000) The role of individual and social variables in oral task performance. Language Teaching Research, 41, 275–300.
Fiore, D.J
(2011) School-community Relations (3rd ed.). Larchmon, NY: Eye on Education.
Fisher, S.E. & Scharff, C
(2009) FOXP2 as a molecular window into speech and language. Trends in Genetics 251, 166 –177. CrossRef Medline
Forsyth, D.R
(2010) Group Dynamics (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Gardner, R.C. & Lambert, W.E
(1972) Attitudes and Motivation in Second Language Learning. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Gardner, R.C
(1985) Social Psychology and Second Language Learning: The role of attitudes and motivation. London, England: Edward Arnold.
Good, T.L., Sikes, J.N. & Brophy, J.E
(1973) Effects of teacher sex and student sex on classroom interaction. Journal of Educational Psychology 651, 74–87.
Good, T.L., Cooper, H.M. & Blakey, S.L
(1980) Classroom interaction as a function of teacher expectations, student sex, and time of year. Journal of Educational Psychology, 721, 378–385.
Hashimoto, Y
(2002) Motivation and willingness to communicate as predictors of reported L2 use: The Japanese context. Second Language Studies, 20(2), 29–70.
Hsu, C.F
(2007) A cross-cultural comparison of communication orientations between Americans and Taiwanese. Communication Quarterly 55(3). 359–374.
Huttenlocher, J.H.W., Bryk, A., Seltzer, M. & Lyons, T
(1991) Early vocabulary growth: relation to language input and gender. Developmental Psychology, 271, 236–248.
Hyde, J.S. & Linn, M.C
(1988) Gender differences in verbal ability: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin 1041, 53–69.
Hymes, D
(1972) On communicative competence. In J.B. Pride & J. Holmes, (Eds.), Sociolinguistics (pp. 269–293). Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Education.
Jing, L
(2013) Research on English majors’ willingness to communicate inside classroom. Sino-US English Teaching, 10(8), 615–620. Retrieved from [URL]
Kang, S
(2005) Dynamic emergence of situational willingness to communicate in a second language. System, 331, 277–292.
Kimura, D
(2000) Sex and Cognition. Cambridge, MA: A Bradford Book/MIT Press.
Larsen-Freeman, D. & Cameron, Lynne
(2008) Research Methodology on Language Development from a Complex Systems Perspective. The Modern Language Journal, 92(2), 200–213.
Leaper, C. & Ayres, M.M
(2007) A meta-analytic review of gender variations in adults’ language use: Talkativeness, affiliative speech, and assertive speech. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 111, 328–363.
Li, S., Weidenfeld, J. & Morrisey, E.E
(2004) Transcriptional and DNA binding activity of the Foxp1/2/4 family is modulated by heterotypic and homotypic protein interactions. Molecular and Cellular Biology, 241, 809–822
Lin, Y & Rancer, A.S
(2003) Sex differences in intercultural communication apprehension, ethnocentrism, and intercultural willingness to communicate. Psychological Reports, 921, 195–200.
(1994) Variables underlying Willingness to Communicate: A causal analysis. Communication Research Reports, 111, 135–142.
MacIntyre, P.D., Baker, S.C., Clément, R. & Conrod, S
(2001) Willingness to communicate, social support, and language learning orientations of immersion students. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 231, 369–388.
MacIntyre, P.D., Baker, S.C., Clément, R. & Donovan, L.A
(2003) Talking in order to learn: Willingness to communicate and intensive language programs. Canadian Modern Language Review, 591, 589–607.
MacIntyre, P.D. & Charos, C
(1996) Personality, attitudes, and affect as predictors of second language communication. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 51, 3–26.
MacIntyre, P.D., Clément, R., Dörnyei, Z. & Noels, K.A
(1998) Conceptualizing willingness to communicate in a L2: A situational model of L2 confidence and affiliation. The Modern Language Journal, 821, 545–562.
MacIntyre, P.D. & Donovan, L.A
(2004) Age and sex differences in willingness to communicate, communication apprehension, and self-perceived competence. Communication Research Reports, 211, 420–427.
MacIntyre, P.D. & Legatto, J.J
(2010) A dynamic system approach to willingness to communicate: Developing an idiodynamic method to capture rapidly changing affect. Applied Linguistics, 321, 149–171.
Maccoby, E
(1966) The Development of Sex Differences. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
McCroskey, J.C. & Baer, J.E
(1985, November). Willingness to communicate: The construct and its measurement.Paper presented at the
annual convention of the Speech Communication association
, Denver, Co.
McCroskey, J.C. & Richmond, V.P
(1987) Willingness to communicate and interpersonal communication. In J.C. McCroskey & J.A. Daly (Eds.), Personality and interpersonal communication (pp. 129–156). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
McCroskey, J.C. & Richmond, V.P
(1991) Quiet children and the classroom teacher. Bloomington, IN: ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills.
(2007) Are women really more talkative than men?Journal of Science, 317(5834), 82–82.
Munezane, Y
(2010, September). The power of will to pass the Rubicon: A way to foster WTC. Paper presented at
Doctoral Workshop, EUROSLA Conference
201, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy.
(2014) A Structural Equation Model and Intervention Study of Individual Differences, Willingness to Communicate and L2 Use in an EFL Classroom. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Temple University, U.S.A.
Munezane, Y
. (March2015a) Gender differences in an EFL classroom: Willingness to communicate, ideal L2 self, and effects of goal-setting. Paper presented at the
AAAL Annual Conference
, Toronto, Canada.
Munezane, Y
(2015b) Enhancing willingness to communicate: Relative effects of visualization and goal-setting. The Modern Language Journal, 99(1), 175–191.
Onnela, J., Waber, B.N., Pentland, A., Schnorf, S. & Lazer, D
(2014) Using sociometers to quantify social interaction patters. Scientific Reports, 41, 1–9.
Ortega, L
(2013) SLA for the 21st century: Disciplinary progress, transdisciplinary relevance, and the bi/multilingual turn. Currents in Language Learning, 631, 1–24, Supplement 1.
Pawlak, M. & Mystkowska-Wiertelak, A
(2015) Investigating the dynamic nature of L2 willingness to communicate. System, 501, 1–9.
Peng, J. & Woodrow, L
(2010) Willingness to communicate in English: A model in the Chinese EFL classroom context. Language Learning, 60(4), 834–876.
Penke, L. & Deary, I.J
(2010) Some guidelines for structural equation modeling in cognitive neuroscience: The case of Charlton, et al.’s study on white matter integrity and cognitive ageing. Neurobiology of Aging, 311, 1656–1660
Pinker, S
(1994) The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language. New York: Harper Perennial.
Rasch, G
(1960) Probabilistic models for some intelligence and attainment tests. Copenhagen: Danish Institute for Educational Research.
Richmond, V.P. & Roach, K.D
(1992) Willingness to Communicate and Employee Success in US. Organizations. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 20 (1), 95–115.
Ryan, S
(2009) Self and identity in L2 motivation in Japan: The ideal l2 self and Japanese learners of English. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 120–143). Bristol, England: Multilingual Matters.
Sick, J.R. & Nagasaka, J.P
(2000) A test of your willingness to communicate in English. Unpublished questionnaire.
Taguchi, T., Magid, M. & Papi, M
(2009) The L2 motivational self system among Japanese, Chinese and Iranian learners of English: A comparative study. In Z. Dörnyei, & E. Ushioda, (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 66–97). Bristol, England: Multilingual Matters.
Whiteley, S
(1997) Using visualization for Learning. Retrieved April, 5, 2010 from [URL].
Wood, J.T
(2007) Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture. New York: Wadsworth Publishing.
Yano, Y
(2003) Communicative competence and English as an international language. Intercultural Communication Studies, 121, 75–83.
Yashima, T
(2002) Willingness to communicate in a second language: The Japanese EFL context. Modern Language Journal, 861, 56–66.
Yashima, T., Zenuk-Nishide, L. & Shimizu, K
(2004) The influence of attitudes and affect on willingness to communicate and second language communication. Language Learning, 541, 119–152.
Cited by (12)
Cited by 12 other publications
Munezane, Yoko
2023. Effects of willingness to communicate on L2 output and leadership roles during jury discussions. Applied Linguistics Review 14:1 ► pp. 87 ff.
Ebn-Abbasi, Faramarz, Musa Nushi & Nazila Fattahi
2022. The Role of L2 Motivational Self System and Grit in EFL Learners’ Willingness to Communicate: A Study of Public School vs. Private English Language Institute Learners. Frontiers in Education 7
Sandeman, David
2022. The relationship between the L2 Motivational Self System and attainment. Lingua Posnaniensis 64:2 ► pp. 35 ff.
Al-Murtadha, Mutahar A.
2021. The relationships among self-reported and observed first language and second language willingness to communicate and academic achievement. Language, Culture and Curriculum 34:1 ► pp. 80 ff.
Balouchi, Shima & Arshad Abdul Samad
2021. The effect of perceived competence on second language communication frequency: the mediating roles of motivation, willingness to communicate, and international posture. Education and Information Technologies 26:5 ► pp. 5917 ff.
2020. The relationship between learners’ academic goal motives and L2 (second language) Willingness to communicate in English language classes: A look at academic goal motives’ orientations. Cogent Psychology 7:1
Tarp, Gertrud
2020. Intercultural encounters and their influence on willingness to communicate in a second language other than English. Language and Intercultural Communication 20:3 ► pp. 270 ff.
Tarp, Gertrud
2021. Building Dialogue Between Cultures: Expats’ Way of Coping in a Foreign Country and Their Willingness to Communicate in a Foreign Language. In New Perspectives on Willingness to Communicate in a Second Language [Second Language Learning and Teaching, ], ► pp. 55 ff.
Al‐Murtadha, Mutahar
2019. Enhancing EFL Learners’ Willingness to Communicate With Visualization and Goal‐Setting Activities. TESOL Quarterly 53:1 ► pp. 133 ff.
Fukada, Yoshifumi, Joseph Falout, Tetsuya Fukuda & Tim Murphey
2019. Motivational Group Dynamics in SLA: The Interpersonal Interaction Imperative. In The Palgrave Handbook of Motivation for Language Learning, ► pp. 307 ff.
Ghasemi, Ali Asghar
2018. Ideal L2 Self, Visual Learning Styles, and L2 Self Confidence in predicting Language Proficiency and L2WTC: A Structural Equation Modeling. English Teaching & Learning 42:2 ► pp. 185 ff.
Khajavy, Gholam Hassan & Behzad Ghonsooly
2017. Predictors of willingness to read in English: testing a model based on possible selves and self-confidence. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 38:10 ► pp. 871 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 2 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.